I was disappointed as well in having to pay to upgrade Roboform so that it would be compatible with Firefox 4. However, realistically, it doesn't seem fair to expect a program to work in perpetuity with every new browser version that comes out. I use Roboform so often that was worth it to pay for the upgrade. I briefly thought about regressing to Firefox 3.x so as to avoid having to update Roboform, but the speed advantage of Firefox 4.0 is so compelling, I kiboshed that idea in a hurry.
I am running Windows XP on a pretty old system--circa 2004, and was toying with the idea of buying a new computer. But the Firefox 4 upgrade has made my old machine fast enough that I am going to stay with it for a few years more. So, paying 20 bucks to upgrade Roboform saved me from paying many times that for a new computer.
I believe that the $9.95 is for a one year subscription, after that it will be $19.95 per year, every year.
Their subscription model leads me to believe that future “upgrades” will arrive quicker (and thus force a payment for the new license), so that it won’t be $20 but will be more like $20 per year. Like many corporations, Siber Systems, wants to turn its customers into tenant farmers, never letting the customer own anything. For that reason, I want out; I don’t want to rent my software.
I only care about the plugin. I am happy with version 6 functionality, so do not need the “upgrade” to version 7. They will continue to develop the plugin for newer customers, so I see little real reason to discontinue support for older licenses.